Swim Meet 101
Meets are the best time for your kids to develop friendships and enjoy their swim & dive team family!
Items you need for a meet
- Team suit
- Team cap (personalization helps to identify athletes)
- Goggles and a back-up pair in case they break (name on strap)
- Several towels marked with your name
- Sunscreen
- Warm clothes - jacket, sweatshirt, sweatpants - if cold and rainy
- Something to do while waiting in the team area (book, cards, technology, etc.)
- Food – either home or away, snack bars are open during the meets
- Sharpie – to write name/age group on your back and to write events on your arm
- Bag – to keep all of the above in one place!
Meet Arrival & Check-In
It is the responsibility of swimmers and divers (or parents of 10 & under) to report to the team tent and check-in 15 minutes before warm-ups or they will be scratched from the first event! At check-in, swimmers can pick-up a heat sheet and learn their event assignments and their position for their relay events. Swimmers must stay in the team area at all times. If there is a reason they need to leave, they must let the parent assigned to their age group in the team area know. Team area parents have a big job rounding up swimmers in the team area, so they cannot be expected to search the pool area, snack bar, etc. to find swimmers. All divers will sit on deck with their team during the meet.
Meet Events
Dive: For competition, divers are broken into the following age categories: 8 and under, 10 and under, 12 and under, 14 and under, and Open Each age group is further broken down into Girls and Boys. Age is based on child’s age on May 31.
Divers must be able to perform the following to compete in dual meets:
Divers 8 and Under
Must perform 3 dives with the option of doing a front jump (DD 1.0) in dual meets only.
Divers 10 and Under
Must perform 4 dives with a forward dive in any position required, also with the option of doing a front jump in dual meets only.
Divers 12+
Must perform 5 dives with one forward dive in any position required, a front jump is not an option.
Swim: For competition swimmers are broken down into the following categories:
6 and under, 8 and under, 10 and under, 12 and under, 14 and under, Open.
Each age group is further broken down into Girls and Boys. Age is based on swimmer’s age on May 31. All swimmers may swim one individual stroke event and up to four events in total at a dual meet.
Swim meet consists of the following events:
Swimmers 6 and under:
Backstroke
Freestyle
Freestyle relay
Swimmers 8 and over:
Backstroke
Breaststroke
Butterfly
Freestyle
Individual Medley (12 and older—one lap of each stroke)
Freestyle Relay
Medley Relay
Coaches will decide what strokes swimmers will swim based on what is best for each swimmer, as well as what is best overall for the team. Relay teams are divided into “A”, “B”, “C”, etc. teams. Often swimmers may be asked to “swim up” on a relay team. For instance, an 8-year-old may be swimming on his or her 8-year-old freestyle and medley relay teams and may also be included on a 10-year-old relay team. This is great experience for the swimmer.
